Wire-button machine.



PATBNTED MAR. 5, 1907.

P. MARGGRAFF. WIRE BUTTON MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

RS 00., WASHINGI'ON. n. c.

PATENTED MARS, 190v.

F. MARGGRAFP. WIRE BUTTON MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 29,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET}.

I mvrriln sTArns PATENT error WIRE-BUTTON MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. March 5, 1907.

Application filed July 29, 1904. Serial No. 218,621.

T0 to whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK MARG- GRAFF, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and a resident of Augusta, county of Bracken, Stateof Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inl/Vire-Button Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is a machine for forming wire buttons from acoil of wire which is fed into it in a rapid and eiiicient manner.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like parts areindicated by similar reference-letters wherever they occur throughoutthe various views, Figure 1 is a plan view of a wire-button machineembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken uponline x as of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken upon line y 3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation of the compressed jaws,showing them in the position they occupy While the wire is being carriedbetween them to form it into a U shape. Fig. 5 is a similar view of thesame after the jaws have closed in upon the prongs. Fig. 6 is a detailplan view of the jaws after they have compressed the prongs together,the dotted line showing the position of the parts just before the jawsare brought together. Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the position ofthe blank just before the upper bending-rod descends. Fig. 8 is asectional view showing the position of the parts after the upperbending-rod has descended. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of theblank shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a similar View to Fig. 8, showing thelower bending-rod carrying the loop of the blank upward. Fig. 11 is aview similar to Figs. 8 and 10, showing the ram for bending the loop atright angles to the prongs to form the back and to complete the blank.Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the completed blank made by my machine.Fig. 13 is a detail plan view of the end of the bar for actuating thereciprocating finger, which operates the mechanism for gripping thewire.

Referring to the parts, the frame of my machine has longitudinal arms Aand transverse arms A, in which are cut longitudinal ways a, andtransverse ways a. Mounted in ways a are compression-j aws B and B,which are reciprocated at intervals by cams band Z), mounted uponrotating shafts b and b Jaws B and B have transverse horizontal groovesb I) out into their meeting faces. Said jaws stand normally at adistance apart equal to the diameter of the head M of the blank, asshown in Fig. 4. Mounted in ways a is a reciprocating bar C, which ismoved in one direction by a cam c and returned in the other direction bya cam c and a rod 0 both cams being mounted upon a rotating shaft 0which has bevel-wheels 0 c, the latter of which meshes with abevel-wheel upon the driving-shaft b and the former of which meshes witha similar wheel upon shaft 5 larriage C has mounted upon it acylindrical pin E, whose diameter is equal to that of the interiordiameter of the head M. Pivoted upon pin E is a gripping-jaw e, theupper end e of which is adapted to cooperate with pin E to grip the wireon and the op posite end e of which stands normally in the path of areciprocating finger D, which is likewise carried by carriage G. FingerD is coupled by a link (1 to a bar D, which has a slot having ahorizontal portion (1 and an inclined portion d "his slot engages pin 6upon the side of reciprocating pin E. Projecting downwardly from fingerDis a stud (1 which fits into an inclined siotf in a reciprocating barF, which 18 mounted to slide with carriage C and to be actuated by acam 1) upon the shaft 5 so as to have a longitudinal reciprocation,which causes finger D and bar D to have a transverse motion relative tocarriage C in addition to the motion of said carriage.

The operation of the parts thus far described are as follows: The wireon is fed across the front of the jaws B and B at a height of thegrooves 12 If by a wire-feed G and between the pin E and linger e. Thewire-feed and the wirecutter g for severing the desired length of wirefor making a hutton are of ordinary construction. W hen the wire comesbetween the pin E and the gripping-finger e, the reciprocating linger D,carried forward by the reciprocation of the bar F, throws the arm 6 downand causes the finger e to hold the wire tightly against the pin E.Carriage C is then reciprocated by the cam c to carry the pin E with thewire m forward between the jawsB and B, while they are held a distanceapart equal to the diameter of the head M. This bends the wire into theU shape shown in dotted line in Fig. 6, the ends lying in grooves 6 bThe jaws B and B are brought together after the pin E has passed clearof them, and the wire ITO is bent about the pin E in the manner shown inFig. 6, the grooves b If preventing the wires forming the prongs fromoverlapping. After the prongs have been pressed together, as shown inFig. 6, about the pin, the cam 0 causes the carriage C to have a forwardmovement given to it and causes the blank to be carried through andbeyond the closed jaws, as shown. in Fig. 7, a distance equal toone-half the diameter of the head M, so as to make allowance for radialbend m in the prongs, as shown in Fig. The reciprocation of the bar Fthen causes the finger D and the bar I) to be retracted, so that thefinger D is out of contact with the arm a, which draws the finger c awayfrom. pin E to release the blank M therefrom, the retraction of the barI) causing the inclined slot (Z to lower the pin E below the jaws B andB, leaving the blank held therei Then the cam retracts carriage C cai itback and take a fresh piece of wire, leaving the blank held between thejaws B and B in the position shown in Fig. 7. (arriage t. halts upon itsreturn movement to allow ram R to operate on the blank, as hereafterdescribed.

The mechanism for bending the head at right angles to the prongs willnow be described. Pivoted upon the side of the frame A are arms H H, theformer of which carries at itsinner end the upper bending-rod 7L and thelatter of which carries at its end the lower bending-rod h, the rodsbeing arranged to stand normally one above, the other below, the ways aat the rear of the aws B and B and at a distance apart such as to allowthe pin E and the arm to pass between them. Arms H and II are pivoted attheir outer ends to arms 7L2 7L3, which at their other ends are pivotedtogether at in and to a stud h", projecting down from a reciprocatingarm h, which has a yoke to pass over shaft b and a slot 7L7 to engage aguide-pin a projecting out from the frame A. The arm 7L has a pin 7L8,which engages a cam-slot b in a rotating wheel I), mounted upon shaft1)". The rot-ation of the wheel b causes the arm 7b to have areciprocation, and therefore causes the arm h to be carried back andforth, and thereby to turn the arms H H upon their pivots to actuate thebending-rods 7217b. After the blank has been fed forward to the positionshown in Fig. 7 the rotation of the wheel 6 causes the rod h to descend,its lower tapered. end h" entering the loop M and bending the blank downto the position shown in Fig. 8, forming the part m of the prongs. T 110camway b then causes the rod h to be carried up out of contact with theblank at the same time that the rod h is brought upward, its upper endengaging the loop M and. bending it upward, as shown in Fig. 10. Thenthe reciprocation of the cam causes the arms H H to be drawn apart, thereturn motion of the carriage C then causing the ram R, which is mountedupon the carriage C, to be brought against the blank shown in Fig. 10and to flatten the head firmly against the jaws B and B, bending thehead at right angles to the prongs, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a machine for forming wire buttons thecombination of movable compressionjaws, a pin for carrying wire forwardbetween the jaws while they stand apart to bend it into a U shape, meansfor carrying the pin forward between and stopping it just beyond thejaws, means for then moving the jaws together to bend the wire aroundthe pin to form the head and prongs of the blank, and means for bendingthe head relatively to the prongs while they are held between the compresslonaws.

2. In a machine for forming wire buttons the combination of movablecompressionjaws having registering grooves upon their meeting faces, apin for carrying a wire forward between the jaws and in the grooves, tobend it into a U shape, means for carrying the pin forward between andstopping it ust beyond. the aws, a means of moving the jaws together tobend the wire around the pin to form the head and prongs of the blank,and means for bending the head relatively to the prongs while they areheld between the aws.

3. In a machine for forming a wire button the combination of movablecompressionjaws, a means for feeding the wire forward between the aws'toform it into a U shape, means for bringing the jaws togetl'ier after thebend of the U has passed them to form a head projecting beyond andadjacently-disposed prongs held between the aws, bending membersadjacent to the jaws, a means for actuating one of said members to bendthe prongs at a short distance from the head and means for actuating theother bending member to bend the head back upon the bent portion of theprongs.

4-. In a machine for forming wire buttons the combination of movablecompressionjaws, a pin for pushing a wire forward between the jaws,means for arresting the movement of the pin just beyond the jaws, ameans for bringing the jaws together to bend the wire around the pin toform the button-head, a means for disengaging the pin from the wire,bending members adjacent the jaws, and a means for actuating them tobend the head relatively to the prongs.

In a wire-button machine the combination of movable compression-jaws, acarriage, a pin and a gripping-j aw mounted on the carriage, a fingermounted movably on the carriage, means for carryin the finger intocontact with the gripping-j aw to cause it to hold a wire against thepin, a means for reciprocating the carriage to carry the pin forwardbetween the compressionsjaws, and a means for bringing the jaws togetherto bend the wire about the pin to form the head.

6. In a wire-button machine the combination of movable compression-jaws,a carriage, a pin and a gripping-jaw mounted on the carriage, a fingermounted movably on the carriage, means for carrying the finger intocontact with the gripping-j aw to cause it to hold a wire against thepin, a means for reciprocating the carriage to carry the pin forwardbetween the compression-jaws, a means for bringing the jaws together tobend the wire ab out the pin to form the head, bending members forputting a double bend in the prongs adjacent to the head, and a ram forflattening the bend against the compression-jaws to form the head atright angles to the prongs.

7. In a wire-button machine the combination of movable compression-jaws, a carriage, a movable pin and a gripping-j aw mounted upon thecarriage, a sliding finger and a sliding bar, means for actuating thefinger and the bar to cause the former to contact said jaw for holding awire thereto and the latter to withdraw the pin from contact with thewire, means for moving the carriage forward to carry the pin between thejaws, means for bringing the jaws together to bend the wire about thepin, bending members adj acent to the jaws and means for actuating themto bend the head relatively to the prongs after the pin has beenwithdrawn iron the head.

8. In a wire-button machine the combination of movable compression-jaws, a carriage, a movable pin and a gripping-j aw mounted upon thecarriage, a sliding finger and a sliding bar, means for actuating thefinger and the bar to cause the former to contact said jaw for holdingthe wire thereto and the latter to withdraw the pin from contact withthe wire, means for moving the carriage forward to carry the pin betweenthe jaws, means for bringing the jaws together to bend the wire aboutthe pin, bending members mounted adjacent to the jaws, means foractuating them to put a double bend in the prongs adjacent to the headand a ram mounted upon the carriage to flatten the head against thecompression-jaws to form the same at right angles to the prongs.

9. In a wire-button machine the combination of compression-jaws, meansfor feeding a wire across the jaws, a carriage, a movable pin mountedupon the carriage, means for actuating the carriage to carry the pinforward between the compression-jaws to push the wire between the jawsto form it into a U shape, means for bringing the compressionjawstogether to bend the wire about the pin to form the head and to bringthe prongs adjacent to each other, a means for giving a short additionalstep to the carriage to carry the head a short distance beyond thecompression-j aws, me ans for withdrawing the pin from the head, bendingmembers mounted adjacent to the jaws, means for actuating one to bendthe prongs adjacent to the compression-jaws, a means for actuating theother bending member to bend the head at the end of the prongs, a rammounted upon the carriage and a means for actuating the carriage tocarry the rain against the button-head and the compression-j aws.

FREDERICK MARGGRAFF. Witnesses GEO. S. Truman,

FRANK RUsToN.

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